The NHL lockout has robbed us of all these men and their personal greatness. (AP Photos)

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Shootouts

Yes, shootouts alter the standings for the sake of a gimmick, but damn if it isn’t fun to watch the best players in the world go one-on-one with the game’s best goaltenders with an arena full of fans on their feet and the game in the balance. (AP Photo)

Everyone has their favorite thing to eat at the game. Right about now, a hankering for a Montreal hot dog is kicking in. Or the Stanley Cup-winning burritos of Los Angeles. (AP Photo)

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Zdeno Chara’s power play slap shot

Note: NHL goaltenders and shot-blocking defensemen were not consulted for this list. See also: Weber, Shea. (AP Photo)

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John Tortorella

What hockey fans wouldn’t give to trade Bettman vs. Fehr for Torts vs. The Media. The gruff New York Rangers coach gets the most out of his team, and his often-brief press conferences are the NHL’s best postgame theater. (AP Photo)

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Sidney Crosby’s mustache

One of the worst dusters in hockey is about the only thing wrong with the Pittsburgh captain’s game. Between Movember, playoff beards, and sick flow, hockey players are known for their follicular fashions, and their hirsute hijinks are missed already. (AP Photo)

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Rookies

The start of any NHL season is sink-or-swim time for new faces at professional hockey’s highest level, and there are few things more exciting than seeing a teenager step right in and compete with men, creating vivid dreams of the future, as Calder Trophy winner Gabriel Landeskog did last season for Colorado. (AP Photo)

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Zambonis

When the NHL and NHLPA settle their differences, one way they can get the league back on track would be to offer free Zamboni driving lessons with the purchase of tickets. That lost revenue from the lockout will be made up in no time. (AP Photo)

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Rivalries

The Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins took their cross-state animosity to new heights in the spring, but now are on hiatus. Now, we have to settle for Ilya Bryzgalov and CSKA Moscow against Evgeni Malkin and Mettalurg Magnitorosk. (AP Photo)

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#TeemuForever

Everyone wants to see their childhood heroes play forever. This may be Teemu Selanne’s last season, and now it’s not starting on time. Ditto for other future Hall of Famers nearing the end of the line in the NHL. (AP Photo)